The Group 1 features at Randwick this Saturday shape as two very different contests, but both carry the same sense of intrigue. The Champagne Stakes will test the staying promise of the juveniles as they stretch to the mile, while the All-Aged Stakes brings together a proven weight-for-age cast in what looks one of the stronger editions of the race in recent years.
The Champagne Stakes often asks a serious question of two-year-olds at this stage of the season and this year is no different, with recent winning form giving the race a particularly strong shape. Campione D’Italia comes off a deserved breakthrough at the highest level in the Sires’ Produce Stakes and looks to have all the right pieces in place again for the powerful Chris Waller and James McDonald combination. The colt settled off them and finished over the top at Randwick last start, showing both quality and composure, and from barrier four he gets every chance to land in the right spot before launching late once more. For a horse already proven at Group 1 level, he brings the sort of profile that is hard to ignore stepping to the 1600 metres.
Southend adds plenty of intrigue as the unbeaten runner on the rise. Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou’s colt has done nothing wrong in two starts, winning first at Newcastle before taking the Baillieu over 1400 metres at Rosehill in impressive fashion. He gave the impression there was still more to come there, settling back before finishing off strongly, and the extra trip now looks well within reach. His winning form is fresh, his progression is obvious and he comes into the race as the sort of colt who may still be short of the ceiling of his ability.
Waller also holds a strong hand through Fireball and Diameter. Fireball has already won the Millennium and was solid again when third behind Campione D’Italia in the Sires’, while Diameter arrives off a last-start maiden win over the mile at Randwick and at least brings proven credentials at the distance. Persian Wonder and Miss Chanel have both been knocking on the door as well, but the spotlight naturally falls on the recent winners, with Campione D’Italia and Southend looking the two who have brought the sharpest upward momentum into Saturday’s assignment.
The Schweppes All Aged Stakes, by contrast, is a ready-made headline act. It is a cracking race on paper and the depth is obvious, with proven Group 1 performers spread right across the field. Last years Caulfield/Melbourne Cup hero Half Yours returns for his winter campaign as Giga Kick returns to Randwick chasing another All-Aged Stakes success and his form still reads like that of a top-class sprinter-miler. The former Everest winner was excellent first-up in the TJ Smith when charging into second behind Joliestar, and the move to 1400 metres looks a major tick given he has already won this race at the trip. With Rachel King aboard from barrier seven, he is right in the finish if he sees clear air at the right time.
Jimmysstar is impossible to dismiss after the season he has put together. Ciaron Maher’s gelding won this race last year, added Group 1 success again in the Oakleigh Plate earlier in the campaign and has been competitive in elite company throughout. He has already shown he can absorb pressure at the top level and still let down, and while the draw in 12 is no gift, his closing strength and proven Randwick record ensure he remains one of the central players.
Image: Sky Racing
Briasa also commands respect as one of the most dangerous runners in the field. The Hawkes-trained gelding was outstanding when winning the TJ Smith last autumn and has long looked a horse capable of mixing it with the best. His challenge at 1400 metres is whether he can bring that same sharp brilliance deeper into the race, but his class is undeniable and Zac Lloyd takes over from Tyler Schiller. If he can settle cleanly and conserve enough energy early, he has the turn of foot to make his presence felt in a major way.
There is quality and depth beyond those headline names too. Fangirl gives Waller a high-class mare at weight-for-age and her first up record isn’t too bad, Lazzura comes in off a last-start win, while Angel Capital has been a horse in waiting to claim a feature, Pericles and Tom Kitten all bring genuine credentials to what is shaping as a truly searching contest from start to finish. Still, the market and the attention are likely to circle around the established stars, and deservedly so. Giga Kick has the profile of the horse to beat, Jimmysstar has the résumé of a returning titleholder and Briasa has the explosive talent to blow the race apart.
If the Champagne Stakes looks like a race built around untapped promise, the All-Aged Stakes is the finished article, a Group 1 loaded with proven class and genuine depth. Together they give Randwick a fitting centrepiece on Saturday, from the two-year-olds trying to prove they can see out a testing mile to the seasoned elite set to fight out one of the autumn’s most compelling weight-for-age contests.
By Scott Bailey
